This year I made a promise to myself. This was to experiment with more foods, and follow more recipes so I can gain better skills in the kitchen. I mean you do not learn out of nowhere, and following recipes allow you to learn more skills and give you a better understanding of food pairings. Leeks are a vegetable that I rarely use in my cooking. I adore leek and potato soup, however that is as far as my leek usage goes. So when I got chatting to British Leeks and they offered me to try out one of their recipes, of course I said yes. On their website British Leeks have a huge variety of mouthwatering recipes for you to try out and make leek a key dominator in your dish.

BEST OF BRITISH LEEKS

I really like the idea of using leeks, as they are pretty much available all season round. Not only that, they grow in Britain, hence the British Leeks. This means they are very sustainable and we are supporting out British farmers. This is an ethos my mother has always instilled within me. Growing up in the countryside, I was forever surrounded by farmers markets. Therefore I think its important to always buy local when possible. The other great thing about leeks is the insane amount of health benefits they posses. I was not even aware of this.

They are great for healthy eaters. – This is because they contain barely any calories, yet can really bulk out a dish. Not only that but they are packed full of vitamins and minerals.

Good for the kidneys. – Containing the equivalent of one eighth of an adult’s daily potassium requirement, leeks encourage the efficient functioning of kidneys and are effective as a diuretic.

Top heart health. – Eating lots of leeks has been shown to reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol – and at the same time increase levels of ‘good’ cholesterol.

Cancer warriors. – Research has shown that eating leeks regularly can help protect against cancer, particularly, prostate, colon and stomach cancer.

There are many more health benefits, and the medicinal uses go back centuries. The Ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians valued leeks for their therapeutic properties. From soothing sore throats to helping keep gout and kidney stones at bay.

SOPHIE WRIGHT’S LEEK, WHITE BEAN AND SMOKED HADDOCK STEW

I adore fish as you well know, so whenever the opportunity crops up I will take it. Looking through the recipes, Sophie’s dish of a leek, white bean and smoked haddock stew had me salivating. So that was the one. I popped over an email and a week later all the ingredients for 4 and a bottle of wine arrived at my house. I think this has to be one of the loveliest companies I have worked with. The dish itself look fairly simple to make with barely any prep time. That meant is was great for a quick meal to prepare if I had guests waiting, and I could still entertain at the same time. We actually had more than we could eat for 4, so it turned into a romantic meal a few days later.

The recipe was really easy to follow and we enjoyed making it as a couple. As the ingredients were cooking I ave never seen my partner so keen to try something I was cooking. I wish I was able to pass the recipe off as my own! HA. The smell coming through the kitchen was just beautiful. Before we knew it our meal was ready. It says serve with crusty bread, however if your dodging grains, you do not really need. I think the potato bulks it out enough. On a tasting score I would give it 10/10 there was a lovely thick sauce that had adopted the smokiness of the haddock. The leek and potato complimented this beautifully and I loved the sweet punch that came from the corn. This is defiantly a recipe I will revisit, perfect for these chilly nights, a nice hearty healthy dish. If you want to give this recipe a whirl, you can find it over at British Leeks here. Thanks for a lovely meal guys.

Interesting fact – The Romans considered the leek a superior vegetable and Emperor Nero got through so many he gained the nickname Porophagus (leek eater); he is reported to have thought that eating leeks would improve his singing voice!

Do you have any great Leek recipes? Let me know in the comments below 🙂